Page 22 of Loving Jake

“Yeah?”

“I take it you got home all right last night? Jake, he didn’t… well… he didn’t appear to be happy when you two left. I’m sure he gave you an earful in the car?” Kimberly was quick to shake herself out of her deep thoughts when she turned around to face her sister and found her eyes were narrowed in concern with her finely groomed brows slanted downward.

She and Jake’s relationship had reached a turning point last night, and her sister could sense it. Carly had some strange kind of intuitive radar, always had since they were kids. More than a few times throughout the afternoon, Kimberly had caught Carlystaring at her, when either she or Jake were stealing glances of one another. And she was the first to admit that she had been unable to hold a sensible conversation with anyone all afternoon. She was far too distracted with thoughts of Jake to focus.

She had intentionally avoided the adults, particularly Carly, by surrounding herself with the children all day. She had avoided each of their questioning glances, especially her sister’s, because she was pretty sure that Carly was onto them. Damn, Carly had figured out that the two of them had done a lot more than sleeping last night, and now Kim would receive a lecture from her because of it.

“No, not really. We didn’t talk much on the way home,” Kimberly answered and quickly turned to leave the room.

“Wait,” Carly chirped in a high pitch tone. Carly wrung her hands together, and Kimberly decided to give into her plea. Carly would hunt her down later anyway. She might as well get the torture over with now. “Kimberly, please, I need to talk to you.”

Kimberly turned back around to look at her sister. “What is it, Carly?” She was eager to find Jake so she could put her uneasiness aside. Playing twenty questions with Carly was definitely not on her agenda.

“I... Kimberly...I, ah, I’m pretty sure there’s something going on between Jake and you,” she rushed on. “And well, I don’t want you to get hurt, Kimberly. I know how you feel about him, how you felt about him since we were kids. Please be careful, I guess is what I’m trying to say.”

“Carly, what exactly are you getting at?” She did not need this right now from her sister, particularly since she was worried about the same thing. She crossed her arms in front of her.

“Kimberly,” Carly stated in a soft voice. “I spoke to Jake last night. He was alone out on the terrace. I think you were dancing with George’s friend at the time. Anyway, I sort of brought upmy reservations about a relationship between the two of you and?—"

“You what?” Kimberly blurted, her face flushed with embarrassment. Carly’s prying into her life had definitely gone too far this time.

Carly held out her hands in front of her. “Please, let me explain. I feel responsible for getting the two of you together, and well, I know you were upset last night. And, uh, Jake watched you flutter around the dance floor like he wanted to drag you out of there the first chance he got. I had to do something. I thought, maybe he could talk to someone. I don’t know.”

Carly wrung her hands together again, and she pulled her lower lip between her teeth. She was nervous, but Kimberly didn’t care. Her sister had no right to speak to Jake about the two of them. “Carly, how dare you?—”

“Kimberly, Jake is returning to the Middle East for at least six months,” Carly interrupted. “Do you know what it’s like to be separated for that amount of time? Well, believe me. I do. Damien is gone more than he is at home. Sometimes I wish he would give up the band and find a career that keeps him at home. It’s really hard, Kimberly. I actually dream about having a real marriage and a husband who’s there for me. Then I realize that playing in a band as a bass player was Damien’s dream long before I met him, and I can’t ask him to give it up. I love him too much to ask him to do anything else.”

After a long pause, Carly sighed in a defeated tone. “Forget it. I have no right to be giving you advice, not when my own life is so screwed up. I just want you to be happy.” Carly shrugged before she turned around and placed the glass pitcher in the sink. She turned the faucet to cold and began to fill the pitcher with water.

Kimberly’s anger drained from her. Carly meant no harm, despite the fear her words added to Kim’s own piling list ofinsecurities. “Hey, Carly,” she whispered from behind her sister. “I know a relationship with Jake won’t be perfect, but you know what?”

“What?”

“I think he’s almost perfect, and I love him. And well, that’s good enough for me.” Kimberly waited until her younger sister returned her smile before she left the room.

Kimberly closed the patio door behind her, while Carly’s words weighed heavily on her mind. She knew Jake was returning to the Middle East. He had told her so himself, but somehow it seemed more real hearing it from someone else. She breathed deeply when she spotted Jake standing by the barbecue. He was everything to her, all she had ever dreamed of and more. Carly was right. She wouldn’t want to be separated from Jake for any length of time and certainly not for six months. She didn’t think she could survive that length of time without him. He was in her blood now, a part of her as vital as any other part.

She brushed a thick strand of hair from off of her shoulder as an idea formulated in her mind. There was only one thing she could do, she decided determinedly. She was going to have to use every feminine wile she possessed to get him to stay home. Even if that meant spending endless hours with him in bed, then she would just have to sacrifice herself. She was grinning from ear to ear by the time her niece intercepted her, begging her to play on the swing set with her. She spied Jake in a conversation with her sister-in-law and smiled softly at him. He winked at her and then returned his attention to Linda. She followed on her niece’s heels in a far better mood than she had been in only minutes ago. Everything was going to be fine, it really was, she decided with a fluttering in herheart.

“Boy, am I beat.”Kimberly flopped down on the Ferrari’s passenger seat and sighed. “I don’t think I took that many pictures for the entire catalog I just finished,” she added with a smile in his direction.

“Yeah, it’s been a long day.” He turned on the ignition and pulled away from the curb.

Kimberly glanced at him from the corner of her eye, unable to understand his sullen mood. Perhaps her family overwhelmed him? Maybe the chaos of all the kids running around overwhelmed him? Her nieces and nephews were a rather rambunctious group when all together. If you weren’t accustomed to being around children, they certainly could be an intimidating bunch.

She tried to recall if Jake had ever mentioned having any relatives outside of his brother and grandfather. There were none that she could remember, which meant that Jake probably had never been around small children. Particularly small children who loved to climb all over their aunts and uncles’ backs or roll around on the ground tickling each other.

She should have realized how overwhelming her family could be to an outsider. It never occurred to her until now. Kimberly took another glimpse of Jake’s profile as they sailed along the freeway, his expression serious and unchanged.

“Jake,” she began cautiously when they were almost home. “I’m sorry if the kids were a bit much today. They seemed to be in rare form this afternoon. I only now realized that you’re probably not used to being around so many children, and I forgot how troublesome they can appear at times. They really are good kids though,” she added with a slight upward tilt of her lips. She absently twirled a long black curl between her forefinger and thumb, as she waited for his reaction.

Jake looked in his rear-view mirror before he changed car lanes in preparation to exit at the ramp to Sunnyvale. Hemaneuvered the Ferrari off the highway and down the winding ramp, and she continued to wait for his response. He braked slowly for the stoplight at the bottom of the ramp.

“They’re all great kids,” he finally said. Within seconds the light turned green, and he turned left without looking at her.

“Yeah, I think so too.” She was relieved to find that her nieces and nephews were not to blame for his somber mood. Although, that meant something else was to blame, and she worried over what it could be.

“Carly’s daughters are quiet, but I think George’s daughter more than makes up for them,” Jake commented, with the first smile in her direction since getting into the car. Stopped at another traffic light, his hands rested lazily on the steering wheel.

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